Slave to a Monster
by MckayZielke
Summary: Saika is a girl with a lot of power, a mysterious past, and calls Naruto master. The world is completely different from what everyone thought, and humans are in the middle of it. Summary sucks! Naru/Oc
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the tv shows and all the characters pertaining to the show belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. I am not doing this for profit, or any other type of gain other than the pleasure of writing with his awesome characters.

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His face was twisted with furry as he slapped the little girl, causing her cheek to swell and her little body to go flying. With inhuman speed he rushed across the room and caught her so he could throw her into the rugged wall to the left of the barred doors, instead of out of the window. That would have been too fast.

"_Why couldn't you just be normal?" he snarled, baring fangs practically glowing white, his eyes burning red with his drunken fury._

"_I am sorry!" she cried, tears leaking out of her one working eye of the purest yellow. Her hands went up, clasping together and pleading while her head bowed low to the ground._

_He snarled again, the sound feral and terrifying for it meant his fury was only beginning. He stumbled over to the bedside table of his bedroom, grabbing the barrel full of alcohol and chugging from it for a minute straight. The little girl didn't move, she just prayed to the Ultimate Creator that he would just decide to pass out instead of continuing the weekly beating._

"_No, you aren't sorry, not yet. But you will be, for disgracing the Ultimate Creator and my family legacy." He approached her trembling form slowly when a woman of incredible beauty practically flew into the room, shattering the heavy oak doors into a bunch of little pieces. "What do you think you are doing?" the man snarled as the woman scooped the child into her arms, protectively putting her body between the drunk man and the sniffling child._

_She wanted to cry, big crocodile tears, sobbing until her bruises finally healed. She was favoring her left wrist and the woman believed it might be broken. But she wouldn't cry out, would only shake and bite her lip to keep from insulting the man with her tears._

"_I am protecting my daughter." Her voice was calm and voice even, most would think she was very brave for facing the king in such a way, if they didn't know the truth, "from her father." And with that she swept out of the room, her robes whispering quietly over the plush rug on the floor._

_With a roar of absolute furry the man went on a rampage around the room, smashing the giant wooden bed, breaking his oak chest in half, and shoving his meaty fists through the ceiling. The man then stumbled over to the back room, opening the door with a mighty heave that knocked it off its hinges. His eyes could see more clearly, his royal blood already filtering out the intoxicating substance, so he found it only slightly difficult to open the chest and remove the totems for travel to the Third Realm. He placed each in its respective cradles upon the floor and spoke the words of power, his fury still making his blood boil._

_He just wouldn't look at that disgrace of a child anymore, he wouldn't allow that abomination ruin anymore of his time in the First Realm. His white hair tore free of the tie that usually held it back as wind whipped through the chamber. He stared at the colorless strands with his colorless eyes, a single tear slipped out of his eye, and he stepped into the swirling portal of inky blackness._

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto's tan skin glistened with a thin sheen of sweat as he aimed another punch at Sai's face. The white skinned boy easily blocked the attack but the punch was quickly followed by a kick to his stomach he had actually not seen coming. The two boys had been training for some time now and both of their senses were beginning to dull due to fatigue. Sai was one of very few ninja who could actually keep up with Naruto's monstrous stamina, and of course the blonde found this stimulating.

"Are you ready to surrender yet?" Naruto laughed as Sai slowly picked himself up off of the ground.

With huffed breath Sai responded with a deft no and managed to land a punch on the unsuspecting whiskered face of the cocky blonde.

"Ouch!" Naruto rubbed his sore cheek gently and glared at Sai. "It is so on!" he cried and went in for another sloppy attack.

"Naruto," Sai said in a hushed whisper as they continued to spar more slowly, with less enthusiasm, "did you sense that?"

"Un," Naruto glanced at a tree on the opposite side of the clearing to Sai's back, "but I don't see anything."

"Someone is definitely watching us then." Sai smirked, "I guess they've come to see me kick your butt."

Naruto did not return the smirk. Sai was not acquainted with everyone in Konoha that knew Naruto in a good way and the blonde may not be very good at sensing chakra but he knew it was no one familiar with him. Wait, that's not so, he recognized the signature but it was so faint, so uncertain that it felt like a long lost memory returning in the form of hearing—not the best memorizing tool your brain has to work with. "I think we should go find out who it is..."

"Naze(why)?" Sai stopped crouching and stared at Naruto like he was the most wonderful person he had ever seen before in his life. He had meant to give Naruto a dubious look but, the boy having blocked all his emotions since his childhood through cruel training, didn't quite know what face to give.

Naruto shook his head in annoyance at the teen's ignorance, "Because I don't recognize their chakra!" Naruto pouted when Sai assumed a childish smile.

"Now, now, Naruto, don't you think you're being paranoid? Everyone knows that you aren't very good at sensing chakra and what-not."

"Why don't you shut up?!" _I'll show him!_ Naruto thought as he cupped his mouth with his hands, took a deep breath, and shouted to their visitor, "Hey!! Come out of there!!"

Sai's smile had changed to one he had seen Sakura use whenever Naruto did something stupid, which was quite often. "What if they end up being...?" whatever else he was going to say was cut off by the sudden appearance of a person fully cloaked in all black kneeling beside Naruto as if they had been there the entire time.

The person was completely covered from head to foot in an all black material that looked too heavy to be wearing in the middle of the summer. The way they were kneeling was like that of a servant getting ready to receive orders on whatever they needed to do next from their master, whom they deeply respected. Naruto and Sai had never seen this person before, whoever they were.

"Um..." Naruto glanced nervously at the person who did not move an inch; they didn't even look like they were breathing. "Who are you?" he asked as he drew a kunai slowly and as inconspicuously as possible: Sai had already drawn his oddly shaped katana.

"I am Saika, Naruto-danna."

Naruto blinked in surprise at this. "W-what?!" Naruto and Sai stumbled the word out at the same time when her suffix finally sunk in.

Piercing yellow eyes shifted towards them both with confusion shinning in their golden depths like that of a child. The girl said nothing and waited for their move.

"What did you call me?"

"Naruto-danna." Her words were smooth, her voice like velvet in an oddly cheesy way as though she had stepped right out of a romantic novel and her Japanese was oddly perfect, no breaks could be found in her words that everyone else used.

"Master Naruto?" Sai asked to confirm what he had heard.

"Hai," she nodded her head once vigorously, her face concealed by the garment she wore.

_A mask?_ Naruto though in confusion, "So..." he paused to think, his exhausted, overheated mind did not feel like thinking at the moment, thank you very much. "If you're my servant then remove your mask." Naruto believed it was one of his friends from the village trying to freak him out. It didn't mater that he didn't recognize their chakra or that he didn't know anyone with yellow eyes. The blonde ninja just couldn't remember having ever gotten—or needing—a slave.

"Hai, Naruto-danna," she reached up to her face, wrapped her fingers in the thick black mask and yanked it roughly free from her face where she dropped it unceremoniously onto the ground. Naruto and Sai were slightly surprised to see the masks lining made of steel or some other type of silver metal.

"Is all of your clothing metal?" Naruto asked confused as he bent down and picked up the mask. A gasp from Sai alerted him back to the girl and, upon looking at her face, he too gasped as he dropped mask. The girl was stunning! Her face was round, pointed at the eyes, long lashes that were curled and dark, bangs of fluorescent green covered half of her face that complimented her yellow eyes in a way Naruto had never thought would be possible and her lips were plump and a thick red that contrasted with her—literally—white skin in a lovely way. There were little imperfections though, like how her nose was just a little too narrow for her face, her neck was a little too thin, her bone's a little too prominent in her small frame. Naruto wasn't completely crazy about how short she was but it didn't really make much of a difference.

"Hai, Naruto-danna. I crafted it myself with my chakra abilities."

"Chakra abilities?" Naruto thought dully on how it would be possible to craft steel and which elements it would take to do it. "Ah you mean a kekkei genkai."

"Naruto," Sai touched Naruto's sleeve with a hint of worry in his stance, "We should head back to the village before it gets too late."

"What about Saika-san?"

The girl winced slightly and her eyes fell with sadness, "You may go to your home, Naruto-danna, I have a home in the mountains." She paused to look back at the blonde, as if sensing his question.

"Then why'd you come here?"

She gave a faint hint of a smile, "To inform you that I am still alive, to let you know that I have not forgotten what you did for me, and so you know that there is always a sanctuary in the mountains for you and your allies."

"What I did for you…?" he whispered in confusion. Naruto was absolutely sure he would have remembered an amazingly beautiful face such as hers.

The girl looked up at the setting sun, craning her neck from where she still knelt, "If I may have my mask back so that I might get home before too late I would be most grateful."

"Uh, ara." She stood as Naruto handed Saika the mask quickly. He was reminded again of how much shorter the girl was to him and this time the thought made him smile: her little imperfections from before were endearing and made her unique.

Saika put the mask back into place and vanished without a puff of smoke, instead a whip of flame; a splash of water, a crackle of electricity, and a patch of churned dirt were what sent her off on her way. Naruto had never seen anything like it and neither had Sai.

"Naruto, let's go." Sai said, already half way across the field of training ground sixty-four.

"Un," he said and quickly followed, pushing all thoughts of that gorgeous face into the back of his mind for later processing.

* * *

All ten thousand Naruto clones (the real one hiding amongst them) struggled with their training in furious fashions. Their hands were all cupped with a single leaf held delicately between their palms and they were focusing their chakra into that leaf with all of their might, trying their absolute best to make it split evenly down the middle like a good leaf. Naruto's natural chakra element being wind, he was supposed to be able to split a leaf in two by focusing his chakra thin and sharp just like the only other wind ninja in Konoha had told him just a minute ago but it didn't seem to be working no matter how long or hard they tried.

His many clones were cursing in anger at their leaves—as though they just knew he was trying oh so very hard to brake them—which refused to split in two when rather suddenly a clone threw up his hand in triumph, sort of.

"Hahaha," the other clones around the one laughing stopped to stare, curious despite themselves. "I did it!" he cried and held up a leaf that was barely split at the top, "just a little more and I will have completed this training!" the other Naruto's grumbled and a little argument broke out between the triumphant Naruto and another random Naruto clone that was petty and ended when another Naruto held up his leaf and cried out "Alright!" The triumphant Naruto gasped at the sight of the leaf just a hairs breath away from splitting in half.

Sai watched from the woods, curious and reading from one of his many self-help books, "When your friends are working unusually hard on the job or doing their hobbies, it's nice to casually bring them a snack or drink." Sai blandly looked up at the horizon of Naruto clones, "Working unusually hard... Seems normal to me." He took out the apple he had brought in his bag for Naruto and took a bite out of it as he sat down and prepared to do his favorite past time: painting.

"OI!!!" a sudden screech made everyone present look up at the waterfall that Yamato had created by using water chakra. The rocky crag the waterfall cascaded from was made by earth chakra and the plants sprouting from its sides came from combining the two elements: something Naruto wanted to learn how to do some day. Atop the apparition stood, to Naruto and Sai's decided shock, the girl that had visited them a week before. Both teens had put her in the back of their minds but Naruto had not been able to forget her entirely. "Naruto-danna!!" she cried, shielding her masked eyes as she looked over the large group of Naruto's. "There." She whispered to herself and jumped down from the waterfall, pushing off from one of the trees jutting from the side of the giant earth shelf and landing in front of the circle that Yamato had made to help suppress the Kyuubi's chakra should the demon get control of Naruto. Without pause she rushed through the crowd, looking at each of the Naruto's in turn before reaching near the middle. "Ah, Naruto-danna, glad to see that you are ok." Saika smiled but Naruto was unable to see it.

"Saika-san?" Naruto seemed confused even though it was very obvious who was behind the metallic mask.

"Hai!" she said and dropped down to her knee, crouching in that position once more, her mood seemed to darken and the happy energy he had just felt her emitting was obliterated.

"Why are you here?" he asked, barely able to keep the clones from disappearing from his sudden shock. As she took a breath to answer he cut her off, "Could you take off your mask whenever you're around me, it's kinda creepy."

"Hai," her head turned to look beside her on each side before she once again ripped the thick steel from her round face. Naruto noticed that there were no ties to hold it to her face and he wondered just exactly how she kept it there. She looked up at him wither brilliant yellow eyes that had haunted his dreams since he had first seen them.

"Why are you kneeling?"

"You are my master, it is only proper that I kneel until ordered to do otherwise."

"Ah," he felt hugely awkward now, "then, would you stand and tell me why you're here?" as she stood he thought of something else, "And could you not call me master?"

"Does it offend you...?" it sounded like she had been about to say something else but had decided against it.

"No, it's just..." he struggled to find the right words with an unusual pout on his whiskered face.

She smiled, "You are too kind hearted to see it like that, ne? May I call you Naruto-kun then?"

"Un," he smiled brilliantly and his clones began to train once more while he continued to stand there. No point in not getting any more training done.

Saika's smile abruptly disappeared, "I believe there is someone with great power after me."

"Do you know who it is?" Naruto asked as he looked over her head—which was surprisingly easy—to see Sai talking to Kakashi, gesturing in their direction calmly and Kakashi nodding his head slowly to confirm something.

"No, I have no idea." Saika turned around to look at the same place as Naruto and narrowed her eyes upon seeing the ninjas. When she looked back at Naruto it seemed like she wanted to ask him something but did not. "It has top be someone of great power because, even though they are not too near here, I can sense their malicious and evil chakra." She paused to take in a shuddering breath, and only then did Naruto notice that she was trembling; it was so hard to tell in that outfit. "There have been many people to attack me in the seven years that I have lived in the mountains but I...I am scared of this one."

Naruto's brow furrowed in thought when Kakashi appeared in a poof of smoke, Sai beside him, appeared with ink swirling around his body.

"Naruto..." Kakashi reached out to touch Naruto when his hand was slapped away and a very vicious girl stepped in front of Naruto in a supremely possessive—and protective—way. A metal spike seemed to form in her fisted hand and she was poised to strike. "Who is this?" Kakashi appeared undisturbed by her threatening pose.

"Um, Saika-san?" Naruto laughed nervously, "What are you doing?"

"Do you know this man?" she asked in a snippety tone.

"Yeah..." and she backed off, her body relaxing, and she took her place behind Naruto; close but not quite hovering. Kakashi watched the metal spike as it seemingly disappeared but he assumed his eyes were just playing tricks on him in his old age. There was no way someone could combine lightening, earth, fire, and water elements to make steel. That kekkei genkai should have died out centuries ago when the last of the line had burned.

"Naruto, maybe you should release your kage bushin, for now."

"Un, Kakashi-sensei!" he said and enthusiastically released the technique.

A wave of exhaustion hit him suddenly and Kakashi easily caught him before he could fall. Saika was watching Kakashi carefully with sharp eyes, noticing everything and waiting to detect any signs of harmful intent. Sai noticed how her eyes seemed metallic but said nothing since Kakashi was regarding her in the same hostile manner. "Your name's Saika-san, isn't it?" he was smiling now.

She nodded her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his. It was clear that she did not fear him.

Sai spoke up quickly, "Saika-san approached Naruto and me when we were almost done sparring a week ago." Her yellow eyes snapped to him and some of their keenness softened momentarily before they shifted back to Kakashi. "I highly doubt she would do anything to harm Naruto, Kakashi-sama."

The silver jounin didn't even look at Sai as he responded, "Maybe, but the truth is she could be missing nin, a part of the Akatsuki, or in league with Orochimaru..." before he could continue Saika's face contorted into one of rage and disgust,

"I would never help that son of a bitch!" she hissed between her teeth, "I will admit that I do not have a problem with the Akatsuki but I would not join them either. I do not belong to a village to have abandoned, so I cannot be missing nin. Naruto has nothing to fear from me."

Kakashi and Sai did not miss the barely disguised threat.

"You hate Orochimaru?" Kakashi felt his heart lurch for a beat when Naruto spoke up and scared him; the old man had forgotten how quickly Naruto could recover. The blonde took a step away from his former sensei and gently grabbed Saika's shoulders so he could steady himself. She didn't move an inch. "What do you know about him?" despite being completely concentrated on her, Naruto didn't notice the blush on her cheeks.

But then her eyes narrowed before she glanced at Kakashi. "I would rather discuss this in private, Naruto-da, I mean Naruto-kun."

"Why?" Naruto looked at her with confused cerulean eyes.

"I do not trust anyone here but you." Was her cold response, "The Sai kid has no real emotions, therefore I cannot safely predict if he wishes to harm you or not. And I do not know this Kakashi at all."

"You don't like Kakashi-sensei? Why? He's the greatest guy I know!" Naruto exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around Kakashi's shoulders.

Saika looked at the ground, her face downcast, "I do not like his eye."

"His...eye?" Naruto looked at Kakashi's one visible eye with confusion. The man grunted but kept quiet even though he wanted to make a gay joke. "There's nothin' cynical about it..."

"Not that eye..." she looked at Kakashi with burning eyes, "His Sharingan disgusts me."

That statement shocked the three Konoha ninja. "You can see my Sharingan?"

"No," Saika snorted derisively, "it is behind your hachimaki. I can sense it. My master taught me how."

Naruto glanced at the aforementioned headband worn by his old sensei, "But why don't you like the Sharingan?"

Saika hn'ed at this question and turned to leave, "I will come visit you when you are not with an Uchiha."

"I'm not an Uchiha," stated Kakashi, causing Saika to pause, then to turn and face him.

"You would dare lie to me?" her eyes flashed with anger and a strange pressure filled the air.

"He's not!" Naruto stepped between the two; afraid a fight would ensue because of misunderstandings. "The Uchiha clan was murdered by Uchiha Itachi. Only him and Sas-Sasuke," he chocked on the name, emotional wounds recently opened continued to bleed. "They are the only ones left. Now please, stop fighting with my old sensei. You can trust him."

Saika paused then bowed to Kakashi, "Please forgive me then, if Naruto-kun holds you in high regard then there is no reason why I should despise you." Her eyes had remained locked onto Kakashi's, their yellow depths upholding the truth that her mouth was voicing: she meant what she was saying.

"Now," Naruto slapped his hands together with excitement. "Yosh! Let's hear all you have to tell of Orochimaru."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: **WARNING** **FOO**!!!! There is some explicit material in this chappie that some may find **gruesome **and a little **unpleasant**. I realize that I haven't exactly been all that forth coming with other stories and their warnings so I am going to try an fix that from now on, lol. Do enjoy anyway!

* * *

Sakura sighed quietly to herself as she roamed aimlessly around the village. She was on break until her team was allowed on another mission, and believed it to be extremely boring, as most nin tend to do. Yet she was kind of grateful for the respite from Naruto's constant loud mouth and overly excitable behavior. She loved Naruto—like a brother, nothing else—and everything but it was like hanging out with a five year old who just got done chugging about five energy drinks. She flipped her pink hair out of her eyes and looked in on the Yamanaka family's flower shop with polite curiosity. Her best friend/rival stood at the register and Sakura considered buying flowers for...whom? She used to buy them for Sasuke all the time—even when there wasn't a real reason to—but hadn't for the past three years, since he had left, because he had abandoned his village for a revenge that would only end in pain and—most likely—death. She felt tears push through her eyes and threaten to spill right here in front of everyone on the street. Seeing him again was heartbreaking; an obvious reminder that Naruto and herself no longer meant _anything _to him. She remembered the old days, back before Sasuke had left Naruto and her behind with a childish fondness that made her feel hollow.

She walked on.

The green-eyed kunoichi wandered aimlessly for hours, browsing every shop but never buying anything. Her eyes looked over the novelties offered by the people in her village but she wasn't really seeing them, too far gone in her own thoughts that only Sakura would understand: her mind was jumping topics that connected in a way she could see and no one else. Her first day at the ninja academy; falling in love with Sasuke; kicking Naruto's ass for kissing Sasuke; beating Kakashi with Naruto in that convoluted way of his.

And suddenly her eyes did focus on three little plushies, a soft pink snail, a purple and red-eyed snake, and an orange and red frog stood in a line in front of a wrinkled old woman who looked blind but kindly.

_Me, Sasuke, and Naruto..._Sakura thought dully. Her eyes traced further to see a fourth plushie that had always been there—the woman's stall had been around since Sakura's early childhood—but she had never really seen the thing before. It was a strange little plushie of a sleek black cat holding up a mirror in its black paws. _Sai? _Sakura picked up the four plushies and bought them on impulse. She wasn't sure what had come over her but she had wanted those plushies fervently, so completely that she had not been able to resist.

The woman gently took her hand, smiling at her with a wise old face. "You forgot one." She pointed a gnarled finger weakly at a fifth plushie that Sakura just couldn't identify with any of her friends.

"Ah, no, I only want these four." Sakura smiled, even though the woman's eyes were covered in a thick film of cataract.

And the woman continued to smile as she picked up a plushie, one that had been hidden behind the frog. The woman's hand shook as she grasped Sakura and put the plushie in her hand, "You forgot this one, she is so important, much like the others, you just don't know that yet."

Sakura looked at the dark feathered eagle, its eyes a bright yellow, and in its talons was an object that could only be described as a metal spike that gleamed in the waning light from the sun. "But I don't..."

"Have it for free, then," the woman smiled, "You wished to give the frog to Naruto, the cat to Sai, and the snake to Sasuke, why not give the eagle to the princess?"

Sakura gave the woman a strange, fearful look: how had she known what Sakura intended to do with the little things now clutched desperately in her fists?

"Do not fear, child, just go, your destiny awaits you."

* * *

Saika glanced around nervously, the one called Yamato had joined them shortly after she had agreed to tell them everything that she knew, but she felt overwhelmed by their sharp eyes. Mostly because of Yamato, he had a scary face... "Ano...Yamato-san?" both Yamato and Kakashi had not really liked the way she addressed them in a way that she was their equal since she looked about fourteen, and that was pushing it, but neither had mentioned this, "Could you stop staring at me like that?"

Naruto glanced at Yamato and sweat dropped as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, he can be pretty scary sometimes."

Yamato turned his gaze to Naruto and shined a light beneath his face, his black eyes accented by the shadows and his facial features took on a gaunt look that made Naruto jumped back and profusely apologize for saying something bad about him. The brown haired man laughed heartily and switched the light off as Naruto tentatively walked back to the circle they had all unconsciously made.

"Oi! Naruto, Sai-kun!" a high pitched voice suddenly yelled from the forest line. All eyes turned as Sakura emerged and walked over slowly, the animals clutched in her hands.

"Another one?" Saika looked annoyed and Sakura stuck her nose into the air at the sound of the green haired girl's tone. Sakura refused to admit that her flashing yellow eyes were creeping her out slightly.

"And who the hell are you?"

Both girls glared fervently at each other and none of the boys butted in, they were too afraid of Sakura's anger. "Who I am is none of your concern, whench." Saika snarled in response and Naruto prayed that Sakura wouldn't get mad and kill another link to Sasuke.

But she was already pissed.

"Why you little...!" she hissed as chakra gathered in her clenched fist (the one without plushies), the group of boys ran back while Saika stood her ground. "Take this!" cried Sakura and let Saika have it.

Naruto closed his eyes, not wanting to see what horrid damage would be done to that lovely face as the sound of skin slapping against flesh rang out across the clearing like a wave.

Have you ever wondered what would happen when an unstoppable force hits an unmovable object? An explosion occurrs, apparently: knocking the group of ninja back with force beyond what should be possible, creating a crater into the ground that Saika and Sakura were both standing in. the only reason why Sakura hadn't gone flying with the other ninja was because Saika had a very firm grasp on her fist.

"W-what the...?" Sakura was surprised, unable to believe what had just happened. The guys sprang to their feet, sprinting to the crater to see what the hell had happened.

Saika stood there, a slender white arm now exposed from her cloak of steel, her hand had caught Sakura's fist like it was nothing. Her eyes were flashing with light and excitement, even though her tone oozed boredom. "Was that it?" she snorted and released her hand, flinging the apendage at Sakura like it was just an annoying object that had barely inconvenienced her. Saika turned to the group of ninja watching with open mouths. "You are afraid of..." the rest of her sentence would never be heard as Sakura's furry let her fist fly again, crashing into Saika's exposed cheek without any warning.

The girl—obviously slight in body considering her height and arm thickness—went flying across the better half of the field before she flipped on her hands and landed on her feet in a crouch, her face pointed at the ground.

"What about that?!" Sakura yelled at the girl and puffed out her chest.

The moment of pride vanished as everyone felt the sudden shift in air pressure caused by an extreme killing intent.

_To be able to make us feel it from way over there...incredible._ Kakashi looked at his ex-pupil with wonder, _How did you manage to find a girl like this, Naruto?_

Saika stood slowly from her crouch, her head still not lifting, giving off the killer intent that put pressure on even the jounin. Naruto felt his heart flutter into his throat and it stuck there as the pressure from Saika's chakra began to grow to alarming levels. He had never felt this kind of intense chakra before. And to be wasting it confidently like she was...

"Saika-san...?" Naruto whispered just as her blazing yellow eyes looked up and locked onto Sakura with the glint of insanity inside of their depths. "Kuso!" the blonde cried as he rushed to Sakura's side, calling out to Saika not hurt Sakura-chan just as Saika disappeared and landed right in front of Sakura, her fist not even an inch from her face with so much chakra built up behind it that it made it hard for the group, ten yards away, to breathe. A gust of wind buffeted the group an entire second later from the displacement Saika had caused by moving so quickly. And they realized that no one would have been able to stop Saika even if they had jumped in front of Sakura to block. There would only be death to anyone who got hit with that much chakra compacted into such a small fist. It was amazing that Saika's hand didn't rip apart from all the pressure and turmoil there.

Saika breathed deeply, the insanity blazing in her eyes only moments before lifting slowly as Naruto approached, "Saika-san...?"

"Is she important to you or something?" Naruto's blue eyes widened in shock: Saika had heard his cry even in that frenzied state?

"Uh, yeah, she is a precious person to me." And then the final threat was removed as Saika let the chakra built up in her fist dissipate.

_Even if a ninja were able to get that much chakra compacted to that small of a space there would be absolutely no way for said ninja to simply let it go, they would have to smash something with it or risk literally tearing their body apart. Who is this girl?_ Kakashi watched the dangerous teen carefully.

"I almost could not stop..." Saika sighed before she looked over at Naruto and dropped to her knees, the glint in her yellow eyes suddenly gone and her tone changing entirely. "Gomen, Naruto-danna." And Naruto frowned at the name.

"Don't call me that..." he groaned as the girl flinched like he had slapped and she looked at the ground with utter shame burning her face. "Please, could you just please tell me all you know about Orochimaru?"

"She knows...?" Sakura glanced at the green haired girl in shock. In Saika's rush to kill Sakura for making a fool of her, the girl's hood had fallen off of her head and now all of her gorgeously long hair flowed down her back and brushed the ground as she kneeled.

Naruto glanced nervously at Saika; she was strong, no doubt about that. "Yeah, she does. We just keep getting interrupted every time she begins to tell me about it." Naruto looked back at the others, "Will anyone else be dropping by?"

"Probably not," Sai mumbled quietly and Kakashi nodded his head in agreement. The silver haired man had walked over to Naruto and the girl that called him master earlier in an attempt to get close enough to banish her from Konoha and had stopped when he learned that she knew things about Orochimaru that may help them catch their missing-nin but, just now, he wasn't sure he would be able to banish her by force even if he used his Sharingan on her.

"Good..." Saika sighed, the nervous feeling coming back full force as she prepared to tell her most precious secret to her master and four complete strangers that her master seemed to trust a lot. "I do not really know how to start..."

"Well, have you met Orochimaru in person?"

Her eyes narrowed at Yamato's question, "Hai..." she didn't like answering questions that hadn't come from her master but she kept reminding herself to be respectful to those important to her aforementioned master. An image of the man who had taught her how to be a proper servant popped into her head but she let it go quickly.

There was no reason to think about them anymore.

"Then start by telling up how you met him, what happened then, and how you got away...if that's what you did."

Saika nodded her head yes but did not like his questioning tone. "When I was younger I lived in a village that I cannot remember, my parents were poor, they already had four kids and they could not possibly afford to take care of a fifth. Orochimaru was sill young in those days, still looking for strong subjects to test on. He told me that he had heard of them, of their strange ability with steal," Saika held up her hand and some of her cloak broke down, turning into little particles of steel that danced around a little before returning to where they belonged. "He had approached my father alone, in a back alley as he was crying with depression. Orochimaru offered to buy me, telling my father were to leave me when I was born and where the money would be. He said he stood on their leaky roof and listened to my parents argue for hours, my mother crying in the end with me kicking roughly in her belly." Saika looked down, clenching and unclenching her fists angrily. It sickened her to no end to know that her parents had been so weak. "In the end Orochimaru heard my father yell at mother: 'Because of your damn bloodline we have to hide and live like criminals so we are not killed. This could be our only chance leave and never come back.' My mother had agreed after that and Orochimaru found me a month later, wrapped in a worn blanket and tucked away while I was screaming at the top of my lungs for being so cold. Orochimaru took me to his very first base which had to be abandoned when we were found by Jiraiya." Saika looked up after the anger passed from her body and noticed that Sakura and Naruto were both very outraged. Saika coughed for a moment, her throat dry and scratchy after that monologue; she had never talked so much before in her life and they still wanted more...

"How could they...?" Naruto clenched his fists at his sides and began to vibrate with anger.

"It honestly does not matter what they did because they all died about three months later. In a way they saved my life by selling me to that monster." Saika walked up to Naruto and rubbed his arm with slender fingers, "Do not worry about my past or what others have done. It no longer makes me angry, or makes me feel anything by now. It is simply another event in my history and that is all it will ever be since I cannot very well change it.

"I will continue now: the very first memories I have are fuzzy but they center on me being in a lab made entirely of wood. Everything was made of wood; my restraints, the table I was strapped to, anything I could see was all freshly made. However, the blades they used, they were tempered glass, which they used to dissect me. They never dared to have any metal on them at any time; I could not sense it at all in those days.

"They were all very afraid of me. I could remember that most of all, I could smell it on them, fear pouring from them like blood from an opened artery. It flooded my senses and gave me the strength to stay alive because I had regressed into an almost animalistic level. Unfortunately, their fear and my pain sent me into madness; I do not think I have truly escaped from it even after all this time.

"Sometimes they would take me out of the lab though, to 'give me fresh air'. In reality, they were trying to test my limits on how much metal I could manipulate at any one time. I was usually heavily sedated though so I did not try to kill them as I did these things so I also never reached my full potential.

"My living conditions got better with time. They gave me enough food to live, let me sleep in a nice bed, and they even let me play with children in the village closest to the base in the village of Wind in my last two years. Nevertheless, it did not make up for what they did to me in those labs.

"I knew we changed bases because sometimes the tiles above me would have a different pattern; they changed in cycles for so long, I think it was every couple of weeks. They would drug me into unconsciousness before daring to move me... At the time, I would never do anything to harm Orochimaru, but that did mean that I would not kill every last one of those 'doctors'."

Saika's face saddened intensely, "Then I met Kyuui."

"Kyuui?" Naruto questioned instantly when she did not continue.

"Hai, she was a girl from the village Hidden in the Mist. She was training to be a shinobi and was my closest friend. She confided in me that she did not really want to be a shinobi; that her parents were forcing her to because she was their only child and they would not let Kyuui 'disgrace their family by being a wimp'. We played together every time Orochimaru took me to the base close to that village. I became so attached that I would actually ask to go to that base whenever I was not too drugged to think.

"Orochimaru had liked that I had gotten a new friend, one I really cared about, because it meant that they could test my abilities without sedating me into retardation. I would do basically anything they wanted in order to see Kyuui.

"It was foolish to get so close to someone who would have to go through the graduation test of that place." At the confused look from Naruto, Saika elaborated, "They pit you against someone equal to your level, often more than not they were best friends, but you fought to the death no matter what. I did not know it when I was with her, but she should have warned me...she should have realized that it was inevitable instead of pretending it did not exist." Saika paused, her eyes misting over for a moment, feeling like that awkward, abused child once more.

"Kyuui had this charming quality about her; she would never hurt anyone, no matter what they may have done to her or those she cared about. Once, when I was lucky enough to be visiting, she asked if I would be able to see her graduation. She had no idea the impact it would have on my sanity..." Saika took a steadying breath and sat down, the sound of steel mesh sliding as she did so was something Naruto had never heard before. Usually he could not hear her make a sound when moving but he supposed there were a lot of things he didn't know about her. Naruto followed her onto the ground, his eyes locked on her, never once wavering.

"She lost, didn't she?" Sakura crouched down next to the green haired girl and looked at her with genuine concern. Saika allowed a momentary touch on her shoulder before she twitched it off.

Saika nodded her head slowly, her hair covering her enigmatic eyes, "Orochimaru was standing right next to me, his hand on my shoulder and I remember thinking of him as though he were my father. I had never known a different life; I never knew there could be something different, not really. I just can't get it out of my head that he _knew_ it was going to happen, _knew _what the graduation test would be and yet, he had said nothing to prepare me.

"When Kyuui refused to fight her best friend in the academy, he killed her: a singular hit to the jugular and we all had to watch her suffocate. I was numb at first, not really knowing if it what had happened was true or if it was some kind of sick joke. I kept waiting for Kyuui to stand up, to smile at me and tell me she was fine as though I had knocked her onto the ground while playing. Until Orochimaru sighed, 'I suppose that is that.' I could not believe it at first; I did not want to know what he meant. And all I can remember is screaming until my vocals would not work anymore."

Her pretty face twisted with disgust, "I remember that I used to love him, since he was always so 'nice' to me…"

She shook her head and the images it brought forth. "The matches were over by the time I was done screaming: the people there had not even been fazed by my sorrow, they were so used to mothers doing the same or worse. That is what I think messed me up the most; the fact that I was literally the only person in her entire village who gave a damn that she was dead. I turned to Orochimaru, who had long since stopped listening to my screams and asked him if I could kill these people. 'Kukuku, if you think you can.' I had shot him a look of anger and determination before walking away from him, losing myself in the crowds of cheering parents. I looked carefully at each of the faces laughing, smiling, relief shinning in their soon-to-be-dead eyes.

"I felt nothing for them.

"I walked slowly up to the little boy who had so heartlessly killed Kyuui, smiling a cracked smile at the boy's father who was patting his son on the back in congratulations. The little boy had no right to be so happy; I would take it away from him, happily.

"A little voice deep inside my heart wished for Orochimaru to look so proudly at me, to be honored that I had killed all these people. They were already dead to me.

"I remember my vision swimming, my heart hammering so hard in my chest that I could feel it. My hands were shaking with power, my chakra flooding the area to prepare for decimation. All I could think about was how this little boy had taken away my only friend.

"I found a new level of power in that massacre. One that I am afraid to use even now; it is so unpredictable, and I always black out...I usually do not know if I am attacking friend or foe." Saika slid her hands out from under her cloak and stared at them, scars an angry red covered most of the flesh that the group hadn't noticed before. "These are from that day, they are usually barely visible but I look at them whenever I loose control and I calm down almost instantly." Saika smirked at Sakura, "That is why I was able to keep from killing you, Naruto-kun's order helped too...

"I had sensed no metal around me, at the time, that was not covered with the blood of an innocent child and I did not want to use that metal. It was tainted and I wanted what killed him, and the others around him, to be pure." Saika pulled out a rusty kunai from within her cloak and showed it to the group; identifying it as the one she used first, the only kunai she hadn't changed. "I had held my arms out, as if to hug the little brat in congratulations and he turned to me. 'What the hell do you want, you little freak?'

"I was always so small for my age, because I looked like a child rather than the adolescent that I was; I was always made fun off. I remember feeling the iron in my blood begin to change, to become sharp clumps that cut through the skin of my hands and lower arms, hovering in front of me in the air.

"I do not remember how I removed the blood from my veins without permanently damaging myself, I have never been able to do it again, no matter how hard I might try, nor how ever hard Orochimaru might have pushed me.

"I remember shoving the kunai at the boy, along with a shower of the iron spikes, but my memory goes fuzzy, everything turns solid black and the next thing I remember is a hand on my shoulder and for a moment I had thought Kyuui was not dead, that the horrid images flooding my brain were not real. And then I saw with my own eyes the mutilated bodies of my victims, the entire village, dead eyes staring at me with fear, pain, agony. I could not breathe for a long moment. I had used the iron from their blood, their skin torn heavily, their limbs removed from their bodies, blood coated my entire form. I stunk of it; I stunk of their ironless blood..." Saika closed her eyes, her eyes flickering behind the sockets with the traumatic memory, "The boy that had killed Kyuui was still alive, his bottom half shredded to pieces unrecognizable as human. His upper half was staring at me, gurgling blood, trying to fill his lungs up with his own fluids so he would be able to escape the pain that he was in, that I had put him in."

Saika whipped at her cheek, "Orochimaru had patted my shoulder, giving me that smile that I had wanted from him, 'Well done, otome. You have made me very proud.' He walked away from me, waiting for me to follow before we got into his ornamental cart and rode away from the village."

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AN: That took so long! I'm sorry for the wait, and I am very aware that this is pretty much a filler chappie, for that I am sorry, but it had to be done... I hope you enjoyed, and I should have the next chappie up soon...if you are lucky, lol


	3. Chapter 3

AN: welcome to the next chapter of Slave to a Monster I hope you enjoy it better than the last one and I'm sorry it took so very long to get out! lol

I would like to note that I don't really know the Japanese language, I simply used an online translator to figure out the names of my characters and the other random words I disperse in this story are ones I picked up from other stories. If I have misused a Japanese word and it offends you then I am sorry and I can assure you that this was not my intent. You can always email me at halo2girl69 'at symbol' yahoo . com (no spaces, duh) with the correct version of the word or simply message me here.

Thank you for your patience!!

* * *

Saika had her eyes closed again, unable to look at the enraptured faces turned her way, "The story gets pretty boring after that..."

"Tell us anyway, Saika-chan," Naruto touched her cloak and jumped when he felt the material soften underneath his fingertips. The familiarity with which he had reacted to her almost frightened him.

"All that happened after the…incident at the village was more tests. They (Orochimaru's 'doctors') were trying to recreate the power levels I had had in my moment of darkness but I just could not do it, not drugged and certainly not without proper provocation... We did not change bases too much after that either; Orochimaru feared another incident like the village and an uproar that would definitely have followed. He told me that such an incident would 'deplete his test subject supply'."

Saika looked up at Naruto and a smile broke out on her face in such a quick change of emotion that the others almost couldn't keep up. "Then I was saved!" her smile turned dreamy and she stared off into space, apparently forgetting that she was supposed to tell them what happened after she was 'saved'. Naruto felt his eyes roaming over her again, following the gentle curve of her chin, up to her plump and pink lips, to her narrow nose, skirting over prominent cheekbones, and finally stopping on warm yellow eyes that were hazy with happiness. She seemed so dreamy, so happy, Naruto almost felt bad for bringing her back from the memory.

"Saika-chan...?" Naruto almost touched her shoulder but remembered how awkward it had been the first time and decided to wave in her face instead. "Who saved you?" he asked, the others listening avidly.

"I already told you." She giggled and blushed like a horny teenager; her emotions now back with a kind of vengeance that honestly wasn't fair to the girl. "You did." Her voice had come out timid, a shy giggle that made everyone in the clearing look at Naruto with confusion, and then at the seemingly insane girl.

Sakura looked at Naruto in shock, "You?"

"I don't remember doing that..." Naruto held up his hands, a defensive gesture that Saika found interesting.

"Well," Saika tapped her chin, the scars on her hands almost completely returned to their silvery norm, "It was not you exactly, more like what is inside of you." She poked him in the belly, a cute blush dusting her cheeks, "I sense it here and" she poked his forehead, "here." Her fingers felt cool against Naruto's skin and this made him shiver with something he didn't fully understand.

"The Kyuubi?" Naruto seemed incredulous, but he believed her.

"Hai, Naruto-kun."

Now it was time for the entire group to be shocked. People weren't supposed to be able to sense the demon unless Naruto actually used his chakra, which Naruto knew he hadn't around this new being. Not to mention how it was supposed to be impossible for Kyuubi to control Naruto at all.

"The Kyuubi is a demon, the most selfish and powerful on the entire planet; why would he save you?" asked Sai in his blunt manner, uncaring if he happened to hurt her feelings.

"Sa..." she mumbled some other words in an unintelligible language before saying something rather confusing. "I feel like I should resent that, maybe because Kyuubi-danna is my master...?" she shook her head, her beautiful green hair rippling over her shoulders and sending out a heady scent that made everyone in the clearing flare their nostrils and their hearts to race, spreading heat throughout their bodies. Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai took a step closer to her small form and Naruto stepped in front of them, glaring as the animalistic instincts of 'protect' and 'possession' took over his testosterone flooded body.

Sakura stepped around the glaring and festering group and snatched Saika's wrist carefully. "What just happened to us?" she was panting in Saika's face, her eyes wide with her lust as she fought unexplored feelings.

"Did my pheromones affect you as well?" Saika tilted her head cutely, confusion shining lovely in her yellow eyes. Saika pulled her arm to her body enough to slip her hand into Sakura's, her yellow orbs locked onto Sakura's green. Her cloak dissolved around her neck—exposing her collarbone to hungry eyes—and pulled her hair into its depths. Her hood reformed as she whispered to Sakura, "They are only supposed to affect those who find females attractive...

"I am very sorry," Saika said loudly enough for the others to hear, "Another of Orochimaru's experiments did this to me." Saika bowed her head adorably, "It will wear off soon, and I will not allow it to happen again."

When the group's crazy hormones finally settled Saika continued as if she had never been interrupted by the permanent change to her body.

"Kyuubi-danna saved me because he saw potential in my kekkei genkai. I remember when I first saw him; he was much younger than you, Naruto-kun, about six or seven years old. I remember his eyes were brilliant red with the pupils of a cat, his whiskers were more prominent, and you had claws and fangs that made me feel oddly safe…when I was not too drugged to notice them, that is.

"Anytime the doctors were not examining me Kyuubi-danna would come and visit me, slowly bringing me back to sanity piece by piece; Kyuubi-danna was patient and took his time, making absolutely sure that I was being a good girl for the bad doctors so they would leave me alone more often. After an entire year of his gentle care he asked if I would like to leave that place for somewhere nicer." A flash of a white coat shocked Saika and she stumbled back, fear striking on her face before she pushed the memory away, not wanting to relive it ever again if she could help it.

"Are you okay?" Naruto touched her shoulder, finding the feel of the moving metal only a little unsettling this time.

Saika shook her head, smiling a little and continuing as if nothing had happened yet again. "I was barely insane when he asked me this, but at the same time I was only barely able to control myself—there were so many drugs in my systems I could hardly walk.

"I think I always saw my mentality as two sides, one of darkness and the other of light, and I was usually on the precipice of either. Kyuubi-danna knew this, and he also knew that he had to be very careful with my sanity or risk me losing it forever.

"I told him that I would love to leave, I no longer felt love for Orochimaru and I no longer had a reason to stay because Kyuui was long dead. I was ready to leave the many levels of hell I had always called home and Kyuubi-danna was finally ready to show me the way." Saika looked shortly at Naruto, noticing absently that it was getting late. "I remember his voice being strange; I assume it was because it was your voice when you were younger, obviously, and Kyuubi-danna's life-force influencing your vocals. It was stranger still because your voice always sounded sleepy, and I never really knew why. I assumed much later on that he took control of you when you were asleep." This caused Kakashi to speak up, unable to stop himself from contradicting this obviously insane girl's words.

"That would have been impossible. The seal was much stronger back then, when Naruto was so young. Even now the Kyuubi can't even talk to Naruto, let alone take over his body in his sleep..."

Naruto decided not to contradict that very incorrect statement. "It happens to Gaara, I know the seals that bind our demons are different but still..." Naruto was suddenly in awe as Saika's words finally dawned on him, "I thought those were just dreams. The Kyuubi always told me they were nightmares of someone else's life; ones he had witnessed long ago and slipped through the bars of his cage to torment me at night. I never thought they…" he looked at Saika with a newfound recognition and slight regret. "I never thought _you _were real."

She smiled happily, an innocent child once more, pheromones forgotten. "When we were escaping Kyuubi-danna told me to hold his hand and not to let go. I remember asking him why I needed to do this and he told me to close my eyes: _**'Do not open them, no matter what you hear, okay?' **_

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[AN: I am aware this part may be confusing but I just couldn't help but write it this way: simply putting you are reliving the night Saika and Kyuubi escaped from Orochimaru's lair. And please do not complain about the note in the middle of the story, I am very aware that it is unprofessional; you don't have to tell me. Enjoy!!]

_

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_

Saika looked at Kyuubi, her eyes watering with fear and hope. Maybe she should just trust him; maybe she should run for Orochimaru's known protection, maybe she...

_"Trust me, little one, all will be well."_

_Without meaning to Saika had taken his hand, closing her eyes with earnest fear and almost sick excitement. Kyuubi took off, leading the way out of her little room and into a musty smelling hallway. Saika cracked open an eye, looking upon the maroon walls with concealed excitement. She could feel them, the people walking calmly through the halls, patrolling but so unsuspecting. She lifted her other hand, feeling a killing intent wash over her mind and flood to her fingertips, calling on her power as easily as breathing and causing the guard ninja difficulty with breathing. Kyuubi looked back, knew that she was peaking, and did not reprimand her for it. Saika opened her eyes completely, her body tingling with power as the first man stepped forward gasping with shock as the metals in his own body ripped him open, shredding his skin and splattering blood upon the walls. Saika felt an insane giggle tear up her throat, emptying her lungs in an explosion of ecstasy and force enough to seemingly shake the building. Kyuubi chuckled with her, kicking the corpse as they rushed past. Saika couldn't remember how many she killed that night, laughing the entire time, licking the blood off her face whenever the substance splattered upon her: once a piece of a man's own brain landed upon her upraised palm and Kyuubi told her that eating it would give her some of the man's intelligence from when he was alive. She had swallowed the slimy matter without hesitance. Kyuubi ripped ninja and civilians apart, suckling on his fingers whenever the blood caked on thickly: he even ripped out a beating heart from a man's chest, devouring it like some kind of animal._

_And during all of this they held hands, never once being injured by the stupefied humans whom all died. Until they almost reached the exit that is: Kyuubi was running in front of Saika when the squad arrived, cutting into his little body with vicious killing intent by throwing their kunai and shriunken. Saika screamed, yanking Kyuubi back and behind her, turning their steal weapons into a solid shield against more blows. Kyuubi healed very quickly, his lips twisting into a tight grimace of annoyance more than pain. The shield exploded, flinging shards of metal at the men, literally ripping off chunks of their flesh to flop mushily upon the floor. The thirteen-year-old girl cried as she clung to the seven-year-old boy, clutching his body to her own in fear and remorse._

_"You are so strong, little one," Kyuubi hugged her gently as he helped her to stand, carefully nudging her, trying to get Saika to start running with him again. "We must keep going," he looked into her eyes and nodded his head, waiting for her to do the same._

_Saika didn't want to hurt anyone after that, she closed her eyes and clutched Kyuubi, fully trusting the child to get her out of there alive. When they made it outside of the facility the alarm started. It seemed they had killed the others so quickly that the rest of the ninjas inside hadn't noticed their escape until they found the carnage._

_They continued their mad rush to safety without pause, Saika's labored breathing the only indication of strain. Saika tripped over an exposed root and fell, scrapping her knees up very badly. Kyuubi crouched down next to her, gently touching the roughened skin to remove the little rocks trapped there with his sharp claws. He asked the girl if she could keep going and they took off once more, running through the woods until their bare feet turned bloody and red. Saika found it very difficult to run, having never really gotten the opportunity to exercise in the facility that she had been imprisoned. Kyuubi was patient with her though, jogging or just walking whenever running became impossible for Saika and never once punishing her for her shortcomings._

_A squad of ninja tried to stop them and Saika screamed as Kyuubi killed them deftly, his little hands completely coated in thick red blood by the time he was done rendering them limb from limb. When Kyuubi turned, his eyes wild with the lust of killing, his teeth bore in a vicious and blood curdling snarl, Saika retreated into her own mind, tapping into her defenses and submerging herself gratefully. Her body did not loose consciousness though; a being who had endured much in the many centuries of its life took control and escaped with Kyuubi, using 'chakra' to power the body long after it should have given out._

_The little boy smiled with utter glee at the sight of this other being, at the oppressive aura it emitted from the little and prepubescent body that it was cased in. Kyuubi didn't know why Saika had come to this world in the form of a human, but he suspected it was because the brat that housed him was to be her mate._

_"Ah, a fellow in this Realm, have you come to help this body of mine?"_

_Kyuubi bowed briefly, "Of course, there is a place I have set aside for you, in a crest of mountains not too much farther from here."_

_The being controlling Saika looked down upon the body it was cased in and blanched, "This body should already be developed into their teenage years, should it not?"_

_Kyuubi nodded, "It was the human whom had captured the body, he suppressed the hormones needed for growth to more easily control the human half of you; it's apparently easier to control a fearful child rather than a hormonal teenager."_

_Kyuubi led Saika to the mountains and she gasped at its beauty. A gentle creek of pure water bubbled over smooth stones and housed plenty of sleek fish, the bottom clearly visible through the undulating currents of thawed snow. There was a cave, nestled in the forest of trees against the mountainside that would remain warm through winter and was tucked away enough to protect against even the most slanted rains. Saika could sense plenty of wildlife around the area and could see thickets of wild fruit trees and onion patches, along with many others she would identify later._

_Saika nodded her head, satisfied with the area, before shoving the shocked and tired little girl into the forefront of their mind, allowing her to take in the surrounding area for herself._

_"Listen to me very carefully," Kyuubi motioned for the child to sit down in the cave where blankets and other little necessities awaited inspection. "You must stay in these mountains until I send for you..."_

_"Will you retrieve me yourself?" Saika asked fearfully, she had never been alone, never had to care for herself, and she wasn't sure if she could._

_"No, it will be a long time before you see me again and even then it may in the form of the human, whom I am imprisoned within." _

_"Why?" cried Saika, fear evident on her pretty face as well as within her tone. He could see her panic rising and it would be bad if he let it get out of hand._

_"Do not question me, there is no time for that, my host will awaken in a few short hours and I cannot let him know what has been happening while he sleeps or you may never hear from me again. Survive in any way that you can, hunt with the ways I taught you long ago, and wait for me to send the messenger bird with the kanji of your name carved upon its breast."_

* * *

Saika had not recited the parts where the entity was in control, for she had no memories of that time, she also told the group of how she had to learn to fight against bears and mountain cats for the right to live in that perfect little cave. And, after a moment of debate, Saika decided not to tell Naruto about him eating a human heart; she didn't think his sanity could really handle knowing something like that.

Saika opened her cloak with a flicker of chakra and a beautiful hawk with a white breast marred by a perfectly carved kanji for mistake hopped out and landed upon Saika's waiting arm. "This is Talmon, I was so excited when I saw him flying up to me that I left without preparing at all." Saika's bright yellow eyes alarmed Naruto and he felt a thrill in his heart.

"Wait, preparing for what?" and yet, somehow, Naruto had a feeling he knew what she had been preparing for her entire life.

* * *

Tsunade's eyes burned with barely suppressed furry, "What?" her tone was deathly quiet and her fists clenched around a delicate cup of sake with almost enough force to shatter it. The well-endowed woman had already utterly pulverized four cups since that morning; she didn't have any more after this one so she was _trying _to control her temper.

"Ano, Naruto-kun said that a girl named Saika is going to move in with him before this week's end and that she requested to go with him whenever Naruto-kun leaves for a mission outside of the village." Shizune wished she could be just about anywhere else at this very moment when Tsunade's brown eyes burned all the brighter with her fury.

"She 'requested' or demanded?" the Fifth Hokage's tone scared Shizune more than if she had been forced to eat a whole wagon-load of live and very poisoness spiders. You see, Tsunade had reached beyond the destructive anger and had escalated to I'm-so-pissed-off-I'm-almost-calm-with-murder-just-one-comment-away.

"D-demands..." Shizune ducked, covering her face with her hands in the hopes that anything hurled at her—more specifically shards of a sake cup—would be deflected but she knew that her flimsy arms would only slow the projectiles slightly. When nothing immediately happened she straightened, her face red with embarrassment. Tsunade looked calm, in the real sense, staring out her window wistfully. "Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked hesitantly, hoping that her questioning voice wouldn't set the woman off.

"I suppose I will have to meet this Saika girl before I jump to any rash conclusions. Kakashi reported that she was powerful enough to take a full force punch from Sakura without so much as a flinch." The woman—age belied by a powerful ninjutsu—looked over her shoulder at her long-time assistant, "if Naruto hadn't told her not to hurt Sakura then Saika would have killed her with a punch so full of chakra that it made it difficult for my pupil to move and impossible to breathe; Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto, and Sai all felt the force of it many yards away." Tsunade bit her thumb in thought, worried about how even she had difficulty summoning that much chakra, let alone into a shape as small as her fist.

"Y-you already knew?" Shizune looked stunned, "And you still pretended to be angry about it?!"

"Kakashi and Yamato neglected to mention that she planned on moving in with Naruto...which proved to be the smartest choice at the time. No doubt I would have beaten them if they had topped off all that other information with that particular bit of information." The woman returned her attention outside; eyes fixed on her grandfather's stern monument, and clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Summon Naruto and this Saika child to my office, I wish to speak with them immediately."

"Hai!" and Shizune gratefully walked out of the office, her heels clicking sharply against the hard floor and the door shutting with a soft click behind her.

Tsunade slumped limply into her seat the moment she heard the lock click home. She filled her sake up to the brim and gulped it down swiftly; filling it and draining it three more times before she allowed her mind to wander back to the problem at hand. With a loud belch she wiped her chin—though she had carefully made sure that all of the alcohol had made it down her throat, _This Hokage thing is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth. First, the Akatsuki start to get serious about their search for the jinchuuriki. Then the incident with Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke showing their faces once more after three years and totally breaking Naruto's heart. Neighboring villages are threatening to attack us because we somehow look weak again. And now this supernaturally powerful girl, whose name means 'mistake', shows up demanding a right to hang around Naruto; she looks like she just _might _be fourteen but claims she's twenty years old and is supposed to serve Naruto like a slave because he saved her from Orochimaru. I can believe in the abduction of the little girl but everything else...? All this Hokage shit can't be good for my looks._ The woman rubbed her temples and poured herself another cup of sake with a shaking hand, the alcohol slopping over the side and spilling upon the mahogany desk in a small, clear puddle. She was sure that the gaki(brat) would notice the heavy smell of alcohol in the office but she couldn't bring herself to care. _Wait a minute! This is it! I could 'order' Saika to follow Naruto around and be his body guard, the council will get off my back about Naruto being unsupervised, Naruto will be well protected, and this really strong 'woman' will be appeased. Everyone will be happy and I can keep on drinking._ Tsunade's eyebrows narrowed in more thought and, after a quick swallow of sake, she voiced them.

"What if she turns out to be the 'bad-guy' after all and I make a huge mistake my letting her be so close to Naruto?"

There was no one to answer her concerns and she was left with her bottle of sake and over active mind as company.


End file.
